The drumming, drumming, drumming.

I know that this blog started out to help me stay motivated, and to track my weight loss.  However, I decided that I am going to begin posting again, but for a completely different reason.

I have had chronic migraines/headaches as long as I can remember.  They are crippling.  The pain makes me physically sick, bringing about vertigo and nausea.  It really inhibits me from being able to go about my daily practices.  I hate it!  It has got to stop, because it really gets in the way of all the things I want to do as a wife and mother.

And so, while I have been battling this ridiculous headache today (caused, I believe, by tension in my shoulders and lack of sleep, but who knows, really), I have been brainstorming on things that could be triggering the pain, and things I can do to help eliminate them.

Obviously, there is the whole lack of sleep aspect.  I know that this greatly contributes to my head pain.  It is something I am working on, but being such a light sleeper, it is really hard to control.

I remember back to when I was exercising regularly.  I had far less headaches then.

I have been told that eliminating sugar could possibly help.

When I was pregnant with Keith I was (self-diagnosed) hypoglycemic.  I began following a hypoglycemic diet and nearly eradicated the headaches.

These changes aren't going to be easy.  Because I am not getting enough sleep, I find it very hard to wake up early in the morning to exercise, and quite frankly, that is really the only time I have available for exercising.  But I think if I don't take time for me aka make time to exercise, these headaches will only get more frequent and more intense, so I am going to have to prioritize and forget about cleaning while the baby is asleep and just dedicate that time to exercise.

As for the sugar:  well, it is coming up on my favorite month.  There are 5 family birthdays in October (mine included), lots of candy corn and mellocreme pumpkins, which are my absolute favorite!  Not to mention Halloween.

I am going to begin slowly, like I did before when I was off sugar.  I will begin getting rid of the HFCS and slowly work up from there.

This is going to be an incredibly difficult process, of which I am aware, but after having a migraine or headache every single day this week, I have decided I can't take it anymore and something must be done to stop them.  I cannot function in my normal life, not to mention my church callings with the consistent pain.

And so, I am resurrecting this old dusty blog and rather than focusing on weight loss (which I should be doing as well, but am not going to do because I can only have so many things on my plate), I am going to dedicate this (or at least this portion) to regaining control over my life and fighting back from the pain.

 When I figure out an exact plan, I will post it. Until then, brainstorm with me.

Slow and Steady Wins The Race

Okay. 

The baby is born!

Which means I can attend to my goals again. 

I don't know how realistic of a goal this is, but I would like to be back into my skinny jeans by Christmas. 

Now, I am breast feeding, so I know I still need extra calories, and lets be honest, I never have been one to diet. Or count calories. 

And I have not yet received the go ahead on exercising yet. 

But I was told to walk. 

And so beginning tomorrow, I am going to walk. And no, this isn't a procrastination kind of thing. It is too late tonight. I think I may carry my hand weights while I walk to do a little toning as well. 

Next week I go in for my post partum appointment and hopefully will receive the go ahead for exercise. And then I can get busy at the gym again. 

As per all my pregnancies, I gained a lot of weight. Again, I topped at 208 lbs. I haven't been on a scale since then, but have been eating sweets like they are going out of style, so I need to remedy that. Because of that, I worry I will be at 208 still when I go in for my checkup. 

Not a pretty thing. 

So, tonight I decided to stop aiding the invasion of the fub and actually do something about it. 

When I was pregnant, I drank a soda nearly every day. I tried to stop, but it helped me not be immobilized by headaches. The caffeine really helped. As soon as Beth was born, I quit drinking soda, though, only having one since then. That should help losing the fub, right?

I know I should give up sweets like I did the soda, but I also know setting possible goals is important and I will not have the will-power to completely give up sweets. At least not right off the bat. And so I have decided to limit myself to one treat a day. 

Because we have a box of twinkles lying around. And another of ice cream sandwiches. 

And when those are gone, I will cut out HFCS. And then try to wean myself off processed sugars. 

This is going to be an uphill battle, I know. Especially with Halloween right around the corner and my favorite candy coming out. Oh candy corn, how you plague me with your tempting sweetness. Sigh. 

So, this is my game plan: 

TRY to get enough sleep. Lack of sleep increases a sugar craving. 

Eat fruit or something high protein when a sugar craving hits. 

One treat a day for now. 

Go on a walk daily. 

Do some strength training daily. 

Only eat when hungry, and enough to fill me. Listen to my body as a guide, not my plate, and certainly not my tongue. 

Drink more water. 

I am drinking a ton of water now, I am doing about 130 oz a day, but that is because breast feeding makes me super thirsty. If I can keep that up, or even up it, it should help with my cravings. 

I think that should about do it. If I can stick to this, I should be good for the time being!  I will check back in a week with my stats and hopeful the okay from my doctor on exercising!

Accountability

 So, this is embarrassing.  I had hoped to not need this blog anymore.

Unfortunately, I do.

I had a hard winter.  I got sick, all the kids got sick, Keith is no longer in preschool, so going to the gym became a habit of old.

And holiday foods were just so good.

And so, I am needing accountability again.

To start off with, I am going to try going off of sugar.

Again.

I am like an alcoholic who just can't say no.  I read once that sugar is more addictive than crack, though, and I have to say, I agree with it.

My focus, however, is not weight loss.  First, I am going to focus on developing healthy habits and hope to kick those old cravings.  By doing this, I figure the chips will fall into place.

And so, as obligatory, my goals:

Exercise:
Walk for at least 30 minutes a day
Weight training M,W, F.
8 cups water a day
Track the foods I eat
No candy
Stretch every day

I will be accountable once a week on this blog, stating how I am doing, and hoping that this will help me develop those habits that I had once upon a time.  I may also add a few little goals.  Such as, this week I want to work on posture.

Here we go again.

Bless you accountability!

Mission Accomplished, Re-assess.

I have been doing a happy dance.  For the past few weeks.

Remember how unhappy I was with all the extra chub I was carrying around?  You would think all that extra weight would make me so much stronger!  

At any rate, I have reached my first goal weight.  Which was get down to what I weighed when I got married.

Check!

Now, it is get down to my ideal weight.  Which was my high school weight.  

But even more than that, it is to get rid of all the baby chub in the tummy that was never there before.  I don't know how to explain it, but though I am what I was when I got married, though I fit into those clothes, I do not look the same.  I used to have a flat stomach.  Now, when I stand it looks flat, but when I sit there is a donut of jiggly all around my center.  I never had that before!  And when I say never and before, I am referring (of course) to the time before babies were a reality in my life.  So, when I get down to that ideal weight, it will also be without the added ring of goo.

I am going to do this by focusing half my work out time on weight training.  I am also going to do 5 minutes of plank to strengthen my core.  Not all at once, mind you.  Especially not at first.  I am doing one minute increments right now.  Hoping to be able to build by thirty seconds each week.  I plan to be fit, and have my old body back. 

It can be done.  Though it took me four years, I did get my weight and size back.  I just have to be patient and can have my body back.

Sugar, Dairy and Decrease

Where to start, where to start...

I just listened to a podcast called Sugar: The Bitter Truth which really opened my eyes.

It went into how the body chemically breaks up fructose and sucrose and process it.  And upon watching and learning, it has made me ever more wary of sugar.  The White Death as some people call it.  If you don't have an hour and a half to sit and watch it (nor did I) find it on iTunes University.  Listen to it as you go about your day and hear how it will change your life.  Seriously.  Eye opening.

And even with knowledge, old habits and addictions are hard to give up.  I am doing better, but still having a hard time giving up the sugar.  Sigh.



Faye is allergic to dairy.  I am happy about it.  And so annoyed with all the people who say "Conveniently, she is allergic.  Conveniently because you don't like dairy."  It is convenient.  And wonderful.  We have begun to eliminate dairy from our diets.  I feel a lot better without it.  I don't really miss it.  Though I do still sometimes indulge in cheese or butter.  But not often.



And now, on to the big news.  I have lost 19 pounds since October.  I have been going to the gym, and eating smaller portions.  I have been seeing a steady weight decrease.  I now weigh less than I have in four years!  One pound less, it is true.  But one pound is one pound.  And I plan to continue with these habits and hopefully get back to my ideal weight.  What I weighed from eighth grade through college.  And then I got pregnant.  And then the weight decided to take root.  Until now!  Oh happy day!

Back on the Wagon.

Ha.

Usually when I post it is an apology.  An explanation as to why I hadn't been doing well.

But this time, be prepared to be amazed.

I have gone to the gym every day but Sunday for the past two weeks.

I have been losing body fat.

But no weight yet.

Not to worry, though.

I have been doing cardio for an hour, and weight training for an hour.

That is two hours of working out.

Every day.

And I love it!

Jeffrey gave me a gym membership for my birthday.  Best. gift. ever.

X-biking is my favorite.  I mean, it seriously kicks my trash, but I am feeling the results, and that is making me happy.

For fun factor, Zumba seriously beats all.  Dancing, sweating, and feeling whiter than I have ever felt in my life.

Kickboxing is awfully fun.  And amazing for getting frustration out.  Man alive, when there is something bothering me, kickboxing is my cure.

I am seriously loving this.  To the extent that I am losing my sugar cravings.

Sundays are hard days for sugar, though.  No exercise.  Sad.

At any rate, I just wanted to update this.

Next week (starting tomorrow), I get to up my reps.  It is going to be harder, and oh so worth it.  Yay!  Can't wait.

My List

Have you ever seen My Name Is Earl?

Jeffrey kept telling me how awesome it is, and since I ran out of things to watch on Netflix, I decided I would give it a try.

The jury is still out as to whether or not I like it.

But the guy is obsessed with his list.

It got me thinking about lists.

Keith loves lists.  It is the way I get him to clean, or do anything!

Each morning, we sit down, write up a list of what we are going to do, and then do it.

As the day goes on, he carries the list with him, asking to do things, just so he can have the joy of crossing it off.

I think it is absolutely adorable.

Then one day, I realized I am the same way.

I love lists.

I love making them, and then the sense of accomplishment I get when crossing something off.

Even more so, looking at the list, and seeing things crossed off makes me feel like I got a lot done.

And so, since I am having such a hard time staying focused, I decided to make a list.

A list with baby steps.

This way, I can cross lots of things off my list and get that sense of accomplishments.

I can take baby steps, and then the insurmountable feat of weight loss wont be so insurmountable.

Yay!  I have a list!  I can cross things off the list!  Right over there on the side bar.

Let the list crossing begin.